Constitutional right to abortion in the USA: legal regulation

The article provides a legal analysis of the transformation of the constitutional right to abortion in the United States of America after the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision (1973) in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case (2022). The author examines the consequences of the decentralization of legal regulation of reproductive rights in the context of the US federalist model, which led to a deep asymmetry in access to abortion between individual states. Particular attention is paid to studying the impact of recent actions of the federal executive branch, in particular the administration’s decision to repeal the requirement for emergency abortions in hospitals. The article also analyzes a case from the state of Georgia, where a legislative ban on abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy led to the support of an already deceased woman on an artificial respirator in order to preserve the fetus, against her will and the will of her entire family, which caused significant public and ethical resonance. The article provides a comparative analysis of US legal practice with international human rights standards, including the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other sources of international humanitarian law. The author argues that the current practice of restricting abortion in the US contradicts the fundamental principles of the right to dignity, bodily autonomy, and health care, and also poses a threat of violation of fundamental human rights. The analysis formulates proposals for restoring a systemic approach to the constitutional regulation of the right to abortion in the US, in particular by adopting federal legislation, harmonizing domestic legislation with international standards, and unifying legal mechanisms for responding to medical emergencies. The need to rethink the right to abortion as a component of a holistic system of human rights is substantiated, which requires not only judicial rethinking, but also active legislative action.